7.05 ADVENTURES IN GOOD MUSICWith Karl HaasWeber, The InstrumentalistCarl Maria von Weber is best known for his operas. He was equally productive in strictly instrumental music. Today's Adventure points this out.

8.00 BOB MAYNARDSOUNDSTAGE: STAGE OF THE NATIONRemember Ronald RyanBy Barry DickinsRonald Ryan was hanged at 8.00am on the February 3, 1967. The mention of his name still creates emotion and controversy today.I walked to work the day you died. Through the Treasury Gardens. I loved that. The possums and the trees. About ten of us teachers sat silently at a big desk and listened to the radio. We listened, we knew about it, we heard about it. I sat with my head in my hands and I kept sobbing.'So writes Barry Dickins in his play which attempts to reach the real Ronald Ryan, the man behind the headlines. Dickins, with his customary mix of comedy and horror, reveals Ryan's character through those who knew the man; his friends, family, and the priest who stayed with him to the gruesome end.This play, which completes Soundstage's 1996 Stage of the Nation series, was commissioned by Melbourne's Playbox Theatre Company and was first performed by the company in 1994. Recorded by the ABC